May 22, 1929

Wow! That’s all I can think of to say right now. Talk about a welcoming party, I landed in Le Bourget and all I see is a bunch of people and when I land they all rush at me, pull me out of the cockpit, and start carrying me up above their heads. They started to tear pieces off of Spirit as a souvenir. I have made my flight across the Atlantic! The French President is going to bestow upon me the Legion d’honneur. His name is Gaston Doumergue. President Calvin Coolidge is going to give me the Distinguished Flying Cross award. The U.S. post office is going to issue a 10-Cent Air Mail stamp showing the Spirit of St. Louis and a map of my flight. There is also going to be a ticker tape parade in New York City for me. I cant believe this is all happening. It’s just so much to take in. This flight was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my entire life; Spirit was icing during the flight. It was hard to see. At one point I was caught in a fog for several hours in which I could not see anything. I wouldn’t have been able to tell if the propeller stopped working right in front of me. It could have been very very bad, but thank god it all worked out. I mean not being able to see the stars half the time was difficult enough but flying right on top of storm clouds. Wow I might as well have been shot at. It’s all ok nothing to worry about. I’m also having a banquet in which I will be honored in at the hotel Commodore. I have been told over 3.,500 people have been invited to the event. Oh god I can’t wait. I am goin to be escorted back to America by a fleet of warships. It kind of makes me feel important. I can’t wait till mom hears about this. She always said she expected big things from me. Well I hope she’ll be proud, and dad wanted me to go play baseball, pshh. No Way am I goin to go play with some sticks and balls. Flying is where its at. Hopefully the world will recognize the potential the human race has in the air now that I have completed this flight. To be honest I don’t even know why I was so nervous now. The flights over, now I can sit back, relax, and enjoy my recognition. Well tomorrow is a big day. I am gonna get some shut eye.

May 20, 1927

I have gathered many of my supplies needed for the flight tomorrow. I am very nervous about this because 6 other pilots have failed in their attempts to fly across the Atlantic. I am not as famous as the other pilots that attempted to win the Orteig Prize, but I feel like I’ve got a real shot at this thing. Fortunately for me, I have been given a lot of money through donations and funds in the building of my plane, but I also had to contribute $2,000 of my own money even with my $15,000 bank loan; this amount of money still doesn’t equal the amount of money the other pilots had and I don’t have the flight experience they had. I really hope I can beat that ace racer pilot Clarence D. Chamberlin. He’s been bustin’ my chops ever since he found out I was in the race for the prize. I still can’t believe the French war heroes Charles Nungesser and his navigator Francois Coli were never heard from. God the nervousness is getting to me. I think I’m gonna freak out. Thank god for the help Donald Hall gave me in designing this plane, he truly made this plane a work of art. The plane is light enough to get off the ground and powerful enough to get the plane very far and quickly. Hopefully everything goes as planned. If I make this flight I definitely have to give recognition to Frank Robertson, Harry H. Knight, and Harold M. Bixby for their generous donations on this project. This could have definitely not been done without them. I am getting so tired and I have to wake up so early tomorrow for the flight. Although I definitely have to be thankful for the money I made being an airmail pilot. I really hope those 450 gallons of gasoline will be enough for the plane ride. If I get lost I’m gonna be in some serious trouble because then I will run out of gas and drop out of the sky. Well I’m gonna have to get some shut eye because its gonna be a long day tomorrow. Wish me Luck.